Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who is the hat-trick king?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two greatest players of our generation, and arguably of all time as well. The GOAT debate between the two has raged on for over a decade without a solid answer. One debate that can be put to rest, though, is who is the hat-trick king between the two superstars.
Both players have dominated world football since they first stepped onto the scene. Messi made his debut for Barcelona in 2004, while Ronaldo made his in 2002 for Sporting CP. They accumulated 12 Ballon d'Ors between them, with the former winning seven and the latter winning five.
Messi has enjoyed the majority of his success at Barcelona but then made the move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. The 35-year-old forward has made 1009 total career appearances, scoring 796 goals and contributing 350 assists.
He averages 104 minutes per goal and has accumulated 42 trophies for both club and country, winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina recently.
Argentina and Lionel Messi lift the World Cup! 🥳🇦🇷 https://t.co/E7oa0DGorm
The Argentina international has a total of 56 career hat tricks. At club level, he scored 48, with eight coming in the Champions League (tied with Ronaldo). He has also scored eight hat-tricks for Argentina. His last hat-trick came for La Albiceleste when they beat Estonia 5-0 in June 2022.
On the other hand, Ronaldo has found success across Europe, playing for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus. The 38-year-old forward now plays for Saudi side Al Nassr.
The Portuguese ace has made 1149 total career appearances, scoring 824 goals and contributing 234 assists. He averages 113 minutes per goal and has accumulated 34 trophies for club and country.
The veteran forward has a career total of 61 hat tricks. At club level, he has a total of 51 with eight coming in the Champions League. He has netted 10 hat-tricks for Portugal on the international stage. His latest hat trick came last week against Al Wehda when Al Nassr beat them 4-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his first hat-trick for Al Nassr and the 61st of his career! 🔥 https://t.co/NPX0qDa6ji
In conclusion, Ronaldo is statistically the hat-trick king. The Portuguese deservedly gets the award as he has five more than Messi.
It is important to note that the former Real Madrid man has also played 140 more games. The PSG forward has an average hat-trick every 18 games, while the Portuguese ace has an average of 18.8 games.
Who has had the better 2022-23 season between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at club level?
With Lionel Messi and Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup, a comparison between the two superstars on the international stage would be pointless.
Hence, let's take a look at how both players have gotten along at club level.
Messi has enjoyed a more fruitful second season with PSG. He has scored 15 goals and contributed 14 assists in 25 appearances. Les Parisiens are on course to win another Ligue 1 title. He faces Bayern Munich later tonight (February 14) in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, had a turbulent start to the season. He scored thrice and assisted twice in 16 appearances for Manchester United before falling out with manager Erik ten Hag.
He joined Al Nassr in December 2022. Since then, he has scored five goals in four appearances. Al Nassr currently lead the table on goal difference.
From the stats alone, it is safe to say that Messi has had the better season so far at the individual and team level.